Fidel Castro Welcomes Cuban Athletes
FL0512203193 Havana Cuba Vision Network in Spanish 0151 GMT
4 Dec 93
FL0512203193
Havana Cuba Vision Network
Spanish
BFN
[Speech by President Fidel Castro at ceremony to welcome the
Cuban sports delegation that participated at the 17th Central
American and Caribbean Games in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in Havana on
2 December -- recorded]
[Text] Now it is my turn to say a few words.
Dear athletes and other members of the Cuban delegation to
the 17th Central American and Caribbean Games. Can you hear me?
I cannot hear myself. It must be the microphone.
Today we mark another anniversary of the Granma landing.
Those were difficult times. We crossed rough seas, but we made
it to the coast. You also crossed stormy waters recently, and
you also faced difficult times. What relationship exists
between the Granma and sports? What relationship exists between
the sea and sports? Once before we threatened that we would
reach the coast of Puerto Rico even if we had to swim it. As a
colony of the empire they refused to issue us our visas to
participate in the event. We had to [words indistinct] and
reach the coast and say: You either give us permission to land,
or we will swim ashore. They knew we would swim ashore so they
gave us permission to enter the country. On this occasion they
delayed the issuance of the visas, but finally the visas came
and we were able to fly to Puerto Rico aboard our own airline.
Once there it was not easy. We received much love from the
people and witnessed the hard work done by the enemy. We
believe this had been in planning for a long time. They worked
hard and used all available means. They made offers, they
pressured as hard as they could, and they used every connection
they had to hamper our sports victory. They knew it would be a
great victory. They were able to tempt certain people. And,
indeed, a number of athletes did in fact allow themselves to be
dazzled and allowed themselves to be bought off. They abandoned
the delegation and abandoned their fatherland.
There were 24 athletes; the rest were a few commissioners
[comisionados]. What could we expect to have happened when a
commissioner is among those who sets the example? Thus, there
were commissioners from two or three sports who deserted; and
there were a few officials, a few referees, even a journalist,
making a total of 35, as Conrado [Martinez Corona] was saying.
And that hurt, of course. It was bitter, when one thinks of
everything the country, the fatherland, has done for sports;
what the nation, the fatherland, has done for the athletes,
often from the time they are children, all the way back from the
time they were in primary, or secondary school -- with the
special schools, the sports schools, with the preoccupation the
nation has had for the athletes, giving almost all of them a
university education, and even, for those who do not have a
university education, the possibility of working as instructors,
or trainers, inside or outside the country. But the truth is
that these are not the things we think about, nor should it be a
reason for you to be sad. The way some people act or the way
they handle themselves should not shame you. The fatherland has
greeted you. The fatherland can be fully proud of the
awareness, dignity, and honor of our athletes. The fact that
certain ones were disloyal does not take away from the fact that
the immense majority, despite all the promises, offers, and
enticements made in these very difficult times, had the dignity
and sense of honor to be loyal and trustworthy to the
fatherland. [applause]
Some of those athletes defected even before competing. Some
had already decided to defect when they were competing. An
example of this is the basketball equipment. The people were
not happy when we lost by one point when we were playing Puerto
Rico. The ball was in our court; we had more than enough time
to take a couple of shots, easily. We saw that what was being
done was not right. What happened was even worse. Everyone was
astonished when, with 8 or 9 seconds remaining on the clock,
enough time to make a basket and not give the adversary a chance
to recover, the player did not pass the ball. All he did was
slowly dribble around the court and when he did throw the ball,
he did it without even bothering to think. Anyone with the least
bit of knowledge of how basketball is played knows that this is
not done. All he did was waste the few remaining seconds of the
game. I believe someone threw the game. It just happens that
the same man who had the ball and did not pass it defected that
very night. This makes me think that he sold out. We also lost
several medals because of this activity conducted by the enemy.
Perhaps we would have received three or four more gold medals.
I was also informed of the case of the relay swimmer who
defected. He defected before the meet. A younger swimmer took
his place and we won the gold medal. We even set a new record.
Despite all that the enemy was doing, and even though we lost
some medals, they were not able to stop the avalanche of
victories attained by our athletes. It is admirable that
despite the special period, despite the fact that the USSR and
socialist bloc has disappeared, in 1993 we won more medals than
in 1990 in Mexico. In Mexico we won 322 medals. In Puerto Rico
we won 364 medals. In Mexico we won 180 gold medals. In Puerto
Rico we won 227 gold medals, 47 more than in Mexico. I believe
that speaks highly of our country's and our athletes' dignity
and spirit. I believe that speaks highly of what the Revolution
has done for sports. Not even in these difficult times has
sports been overlooked. The funds allocated to sports have not
been cut back and we have not taken steps backward and renounced
the extraordinary achievements we have made in this field.
Our enemies do not want others to know about the
extraordinary feat accomplished by our athletes in Puerto Rico.
Even though 32 countries -- some of them with approximately 100
million inhabitants and with much more money than Cuba --
participated in the Puerto Rico games, Cuba won 75 more gold
medals than all the other participating countries put together.
It is hard for others to believe that a country experiencing a
blockade, a country under siege, a harassed country has taught
all its children to read and write, has taken care of its
people's health to the point that their lifespan is above 75
years, and has reduced the infant mortality rate to 10
[presumably per thousand]. Perhaps this year we will set a
record and lower the infant mortality rate to less than 10,
lower than in 1992. Unfortunately, this is not something that
happens in the other countries. This is the example they want
to destroy.
What kind of attention have those countries given to sports.
This is reflected in the results of these competitions. These
successes, these extraordinary successes, these incredible
successes, have only been possible because of the attention
given to sports, have only been possible because of the
Revolution. Sports has brought much honor and glory to our
country. Sports has given us examples that no one will ever be
able to erase. Let them do what they may do, let them invent
what they wish.
From where I am I can see [boxer] Comrade [Teofilo]
Stevenson. We will never be able to forget that he was offered
millions of dollars, but all the gold in the world was not
enough to destroy Stevenson's firmness, dignity, and patriotism.
[applause] From where we are we can also see our baseball
players. They frequently travel around the world. They have
been offered lots of money. Some of our players have been
offered millions of dollars and they, like Stevenson, could not
be bought by all the gold in the world. For example, how much
did they offer Linares [not further identified]? How much did
they offer [name indistinct], Pacheco, and many others? We
would have to mention many others. If you are a professional in
certain sports you can make alot of money.
We also have our female athletes. The female volleyball team
just won first place in the world. We have the moving example,
the example that made millions of Cubans cry, of Ana Fidelia
Quiroz. She demonstrated a supreme will and an unsurmountable
tenacity. She participated in that meet despite the fact that
her scars had not yet healed. The scaring process still hinders
her running ability. It was one of the most impressive feats we
have seen in our lives. We saw her run to win the silver medal
for track, and the gold for courage and heroism. [applause]
Comrades, this is why I say that far from being sad we
should
be happy. We must be happy because in sports, as in improving
our people's health and in fulfilling our internationalist
duties, we have enough honor, dignity, and shame [as heard] to
share with the whole world. Our athletes are, and will always
be an example. What we must do now is prepare for the next
competition. We will continue to put forth our best efforts.
But not just the state is making an effort. The athletes are
also making an effort toward, as Conrado put it, self-financing.
Sports no longer needs foreign currency to attend meets abroad,
to travel for training purpose, and other expenses they must pay
for in foreign currency. Sports, if not yet self-financing, is
very close to being self-financing. I am talking about
convertible currency. Naturally, in domestic currency, the
country invests heavy sums into sports. The country invests
heavily in equipment, installations, electricity, services,
food. But when it comes to financing themselves abroad, our
sports are self-financing. This is possible because of the
efforts put forth by our trainers and athletes.
I will give you an example. There are hundreds of trainers
who are working abroad and who contribute to the self-financing
of sports. In how many countries? In some 40 countries. We
have more than 400 trainers in approximately 40 countries. We
have enough trainers to inundate the world. Yes we do. We have
physical education professors and sports trainers working
abroad. They have been successful wherever they have gone. We
can see this at the international meets. We must not forget the
Irish athlete who beat us to the gold medal at the Olympics.
His trainer was Cuban. He was doing his duty and fighting for
his athlete. That is the duty of every trainer, even though he
feels differently inside. His first duty is to his athlete. We
saw him do this, felt good about it, and admired him for doing
his duty. However, there are also meets where our trainers help
train our rivals. We are not going to send Zagarra [not further
identified] to train others in other countries. [laughter] (?I
joke with him) about this every time I see him. Right?
At these games it was proven that the countries that have
Cuban trainers have improved. Now we have a triple challenge, a
double challenge to confront. We must redouble our effort as
compared to other countries and as compared to our trainers who
train our adversaries. Despite all this, we continue to win
more medals each time we compete.
Since I have already mentioned some ways in which sports
contributes to the country, I will mention one more. The female
volleyball team earned $400,000 with its victory at the
international meet. The female team is contributing $400,000 to
the sports sector. The male volleyball team came in third and
is contributing $100,000 to the sports sectors. I do not have
the exact figures, but the amounts won in those two events have
practically covered the expenses of the delegation that went to
Puerto Rico.
We have an admirable example. Sotomayor [not further
identified] received an award in a European country, in Spain.
He received $40,000 in prize money and he gave the $40,000 to
the sports sector. That is the kind of people we have. He also
received a super car [preceding words in English], designed
especially for Sotomayor. They probably did it because of his
height. He was willing to trade it in as well but was not able
to do so because the factory conditions the prize by having the
winner use it for a certain length of time. So if you see
Sotomayor in a good looking car do not think he has changed or
that someone bribed Sotomayor. He simply cannot trade it in.
In Sotomayor's case, the National Institute for Sports
[INDER] set aside some of the money to cover Sotomayor's family
expenses. The INDER also set aside some of the money that the
male and female volleyball teams won for their family expenses.
This was done in recognition for what they are doing for
sports. Some of you contributed some money after yesterday's
game. Well, we will have to remember you as well. It was not
much, but it was something; it was your grain of sand to the
sports sector. It is a pity you did not win the gold medal, but
that is alright, we understand. We imagine how the others must
feel when we do what they did to us yesterday--a homer [Castro
chuckles] in the last inning and leaving the other team out on
the field. We are so accustomed to winning that it hurts when
we lose a game like the one we lost yesterday. However, we knew
that we could win that game. We had practically won it, but
luck was not on our side. That bunting attempt by, who was it,
Prada [not further identified] or German [not further
identified] was perfect. Victor Mesa could taste victory. He
had almost reached home when he was sent back to third base.
The ball had decided to go in another direction. [Castro
chuckles] It would have been a tremendous win. We have shown
everyone that we can play against that team and win.
I believe special recognition must be given the people of
Puerto Rico because of the love shown our delegation even though
we were competing against them on several ocsasions. During the
boxing finals, we had to compete against five, yes I think it
was five, Puerto Ricans. I kept thinking. Our relations with
the Puerto Rican people are going to be affected. [Words
indistinct] contradiction of seeing that generous and caring
people applauding our delegation. No other delegation received
such a warm applause. Of course, the television did not show too
much of that. It was too bitter a pill to swallow for those who
did not want the Cuban delegation to get such a warm welcome
from the Puerto Rican people. You could sense the people's
feelings during the various events. It was something tremendous.
I believe sports helps nourish the Puerto Rican people's
patriotic spirit. For many years now the empire has been trying
to put an end to that country's culture and even language. This
has been going on for approximately 100 years; however, it has
been unable to destroy the culture and patriotic feelings of the
Puerto Rican people. As Conrado said, Puerto Rico has,
throughout history, been linked to Cuba. Our flags are quite
similar. We are happy when Puerto Rico is successful. I
remember a couple of occasions when they beat us playing ball.
The only times we did not get very upset was when the Puerto
Rican team beat us. That is because of that special feeling of
solidarity and caring we have toward the Puerto Rican people.
On a day like today we must thank them for all they did. They
are not to blame for some of the trashy things that went on
during the games, the actions of the bribed people, or the power
that the enemies of Cuba have in that territory occupied by the
empire. They are not to blame for that small plane that was
flying around carrying signs. The Puerto Rican people are not to
blame for those things, so we cannot hold a grudge against them.
I am told that they have invited you to return to Puerto Rico.
You can go there or they can come here. We would love to see a
game played here as well if they want to come.
I also want to express our appreciation to the press
because they relayed the games efficiently and made us
experience all together, with the information they provided, all
the emotion of the competitions. Everyone here kept an eye on
what was happening in Puerto Rico. There were many broadcasts
of many events on television, radio, and also there was news in
the papers. The population was very well informed on
everything. Therefore, our people very much enjoyed these
Central American and Caribbean Games, almost to the degree as if
they were the Olympic Games. In a certain sense, the Olympics
were held there, the Olympics of dignity, honor, and patriotism
in which you earned the gold medal. [applause]
We must recognize the efforts made by the trainers, doctors,
and masseurs. I can see here a doctor that does not miss a
single competition. Comrade Alvarez Cambra does not miss a
single competition. You were there, were you not? Dr. Alvarez
Cambra, did you get offers? [laughter] We wish to thank all
those who in one way or another contributed to this success and
to the great victory achieved during these games.
I do not want to make this ceremony too long. However, I do
wish to tell you that the workers at the [word indistinct]
organized a reception for you. They were told that athletes
have a very big appetite. [laughter] The reception will be a
modest one, in keeping with our times. However, I do not think
you will go hungry. I was told there would be lots of rice and
beans. [laughter] It may be bothersome, but it is a way for
them to show their admiration, love, and respect. You have been
greeted with [word indistinct] and we all celebrate the great
victory you achieved in Puerto Rico.
Socialism or death; fatherland or death; we will win!
[applause]